honestly,my opinion is that you'll make a serious mistake buying a Pentax. you'll have a hard time finding decent lenses for your needs & the cameras are not really as good as the Nikons. (for many unbiased reasons)
I would upgrade to a D300s or a D700 if I were you. Much better cameras overall. Besides,you already have many Nikon lenses.

If you can't afford the K-5 just save your money till you can. It's the best non Pro camera on the market right now. There are plenty of affordable Pentax lenses that are as good as Nikon or Canons, And you can't beat the unequaled Pentax Prime Limiteds.
Of coarse I'm a little biased.

I would have to be forced to agree with Razvan. Going back to Pentax now is only going to leave you stuck when you want to upgrade to a pro camera. I just think it would be foolish to invest now into Pentax.

If you are positively set on Pentax.. then in my opinion stay away from the K20D even though it is a great camera, it is quite old now. Stick with a K7 or the KX or just save up a few months later and get a K5.

He already has Nikon lenses...& Pentax is not a huge upgrade body-wise. It's foolish to assume the K7 is a better camera than the D300(s) for example. Let's be honest & unbiased.
I know 3 Limited lenses that are superb in terms of optics & those are not really the best money-per-quality investment. So,why dream of something impractical financial-wise?

Razvan - If you include Pentax, Sigma and other third-party makers, there's quite a wide selection of lenses for Pentax bodies.

There's also every K-mount Film-SLR lens ever made - including some very nice optics primes at quite modest prices - that mount directly to current Pentax bodies.

And if the user likes using manual lenses - that opens up a huge range of M42 lenses - Takumar/Asahi-Pentax, Tamron, and others - at quite low prices, and the optics (check the huge lens database at Pentax forum) of best version selections can be very good indeed.

Also, whether new modern "automatic-everything" lenses, or semi-auto and manual K-mounts and M42s - every lens put on a Pentax body is stabilised by the in-body stabilisation.

While Canon and Nikon lenses are indeed extremely good - to get stabilising with Canon/Nikon, the more expensive lenses with stabilising made-into the lens have to be bought.

Yes, Pentax isn't "the same as" the more heavily advertised and popular brands - but sometimes, one's journey can be more interesting and educational - if taken by the road less travelled...

I agree with Razvan that switching to pentax is a big mistake (and I am a massive canon fanboy ). You have already built up a Nikon kit and there is a bigger range of lenses with nikon. If you want an upgrade buy a d300 or d700.

you can find some amazing D300 offers,trust me. & you can get it cheaper than a new K7. & adaptors are just as good for all brands,since they are not really complex mechanisms.

Quote:

Yes, Pentax isn't "the same as" the more heavily advertised and popular brands - but sometimes, one's journey can be more interesting and educational - if taken by the road less travelled...

there are a lot of reasons technical & quality wise why Canon & Nikon are "better" for the general market,photographers & amateurs alike. this is not about being popular. And about the stabilisation advantage you were talking about,care to make some direct comparissons with Nikon lenses,price-wise? (without including Sigma lenses)
Anyway,I'm not hating Pentax for their lack of development strategies & marketing,I just like to advice people for the best quality/price options.

You can ask a bit more for the D200+Tamron 17-50... Then you got a bigger budget.
The D200 is sold in The Netherlands for around 500 euros, the Tamron 17-50 for around 250.
So maybe you can get 50 euros more for the kit. Maybe.

I dont understand why he shouldnt go Pentax guys, of course there're adapters for other cameras, but I shot a few days with an entry-level Pentax DSLR, and I can tell you they're much more fun than other entry-level DSLRs.

Adapter on Nikon all have one big problem guys! They have glas elements to keep infinity focusing. I tried M42 and Minolta MD and they where ok for lenses of f2.8 ad slower but are crap for fast lenses.

On a Pentax body you can mount Nikkor and OM lenses without the need for an adapter!

It came with the matching AFS Auto-Teleplus 2x TC - just screws on and locks - and that's then a std M42 screw mount. That was inside its little leather stud-button case, still with the sealed "greaseproof paper" looking original packing wrap on it - never used - from 1973.

Amazing what "treasures" you can find! Actually - was a gift from my landlord, thinking I was "interested in cameras - so here's some Pentax stuff you might find a use for". Apparently a graduation gift in 1973 he'd never been able to use.... Included an unused Spotmatic body, still in the crinkly-wrap, original-seal body-cap cover still on it, and the user-cap in an unopened plastic bag - and the model up from the f/2 "kit" 55mm of then - the Takumar / Asahi-Pentax SMC 55mm f/1.8. Which I'm told on P-Forum is a pretty good 55-prime.

All in a zipped case that had been in an attic and hadn't been opened in 37-years. It was a lot like opening one of those "time capsule" things....